This beauty makes the other Sullivan’s Cove seem clumsy, with its refined elegance and heavenly balance which offers no big ripples; just sipping pleasure with a lovely citrus theme interlaced with chocolate fudge cake and helpings of vanilla

Tasting notes:

Put in the barrel on 10/03/2000 and bottled on 10/01/2013, this whisky offers a citrus theme alongside bitter oak and showcases a mature whisky bursting with complexity and fresh vibrancy.

Nose: Fresh and crisp, this whisky offers crushed lemon leaves with Terry’s chocolate orange and nutmeg coated dark chocolate fudge cake. The oak influence is beautiful, with spicy notes intermingling with the sweet fruity heart; nutmeg and cloves in particular as notes of vanilla smooth the flecks of barley that radiate from the bright distillate shining with its delicate fruitiness (green mango, ripe banana, paw paw). The sweetness is also herbaceous and complex, like manuka honey and the slightest shimmers of maple.

Taste: The lemon leaves on the palate morph into varied citrus fruits, with orange and grapefruit rind taking a leading role. There is a dry bitterness and sourness that hits the palate with bitter dry wood and the sweet shimmer of toffee alongside a distinct bitter-sweetness; almost like lime in bourbon and cola. The entry is smooth and deliciously vibrant, with an intensity that builds on the palate and retains impeccable balance: a haze of oak laden smoke carries the bourbon cask influence that intermingles with the sweet distillate. Sensational work by Sullivan’s Cove, to produce a whisky that is crisp, vibrant, youthful and yet complex.

Finish: A sugary sweetness remains on the tongue with the bitter citrus theme that draws in the lovely oak. This beauty makes the other Sullivan’s Cove expressions almost seem clumsy.

Price:

$130 (Aus)

Spirit Name:

Rating:

Sullivan’s Cove American Oak (HH130)

★★★★☆

Score:

83/100

ABV:

47.5%

Region:

Tasmania, Australia

Body:

Medium

Intensity:

Medium-high (big sweet note at the start)

Texture:

Medium

Balance:

Good

Best served:

Neat

Theme(s):

Yogurt coated raisins with bourbon theme but less intense and offering its own distinct style as the spices develop with the distillate

Tasting notes:

Put in a barrel on 28/01/2000 and bottled on 14/10/2013, this whisky offers a bourbon based theme but with a flavour profile with notes that are distinctly Sullivan’s Cove HH130!

Nose: Creamy berry fruit yogurt is noticeable with shavings of lemon zest and white chocolate praline layered with crushed cinnamon sticks. The sweetness and creaminess develops into yogurt raisins, as a sugary sweetness is intertwined with a milk based sourness and layered with caramel. The yogurt resembles the sweeter variety or the yogurt coated nuts/fruit.

Taste: Sweet! Wonderfully sweet, reminding me of a great American bourbon but without the burst of dry bitter toasted wood. Toffee develops on the palate, as it releases its burnt bitterness and a wave of buttery creaminess that quickly vanishes into a cloud of dry wood. This whisky is sharp and crisp rather than luscious and oily, and its flavours energetic and thin rather than dense and rich.

Finish:A lingering dry bitterness lingers with the spicy oak putting on quite a (late) show! Glad it decided to join the party.